A 49-year-old man held up staff in three separate post-office raids in Cork inside in a week in order to get money to travel to the US to meet his fiancee who he met online, it has been alleged.
HSE home care assistant, Fintan Tindley from Loughmahon Avenue, in Mahon, Co Cork, was charged with robbery and attempted robbery of South Douglas Road Post Office on November 11th and November 18th. Mr Tindley was also charged with robbery at Ballintemple Post Office on November 16th.
At a special sitting of Cork District Court on Sunday, Det Garda Kevin Motherway gave evidence of arresting Mr Tindley on South Douglas Road on November 18th at 1.45pm on suspicion of robbery and later charging Mr Tindley with all three offences to which he replied “I’m sorry” after caution.
Insp Seán Leahy said that gardaí were objecting to bail for Mr Tindley and Det Garda Motherway outlined the grounds for the garda objection, including fears that he might commit furthers offences, that he is a flight risk and fears that he might interfere with witnesses if granted bail.
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Det Garda Motherway said robbery is a serious offence which carries a sentence of up to life imprisonment and the evidence that gardaí had gathered against Mr Tindley was exceptionally strong while he also had made admissions after caution at interview under camera.
Det Garda Motherway said the State would allege that in the first raid on the South Douglas Road on November 11th, Mr Tindley entered the post-office wearing a hat and mask. It would also be alleged that Mr Tindley then grabbed a 77-year-old male customer and put a knife to his throat demanding money before making off with €2,380.
The court heard that in the second robbery in Ballintemple, Mr Tindley again entered the post-office, wearing a hat and mask. It was alleged that Mr Tindley then grabbed a 44-year-old woman and put a knife to her throat and demanded money from staff before making off with €1,300.
In the third raid again on the South Douglas Road, Mr Tindley allegedly entered the post-office, wearing a hat and mask and grabbed a 44-year-old woman and demanded money but fled empty-handed when a staff member pressed a panic alarm button.
Det Garda Motherway told the court that gardaí had identified a Nissan Qashqai from CCTV footage relating to all three robberies. The court heard gardaí arrested Mr Tindley sitting in a similar Nissan Qashqai at the Kevin O’Leary garage, 500 metres from the scene of the third raid.
Gardaí recovered a distinctive knife with a four-inch blade in the car, which the raider could allegedly be seen carrying on CCTV footage at all three raids, the court heard. Gardaí also recovered distinctive clothing in the car which matched that worn by the raider in the robberies.
Det Garda Motherway said gardaí had also gathered CCTV footage which showed the accused changing clothes a short distance from Ballintemple Post Office shortly after the raid on November 16th. A hat was found near the scene of the robbery which gardaí believe they can link to the accused, Det Garda Motherway said.
The court heard Mr Tindley was a flight risk as he had travelled to the US in March and July to meet up with a woman called Skye whom he had met online and to whom he has since become engaged. It was alleged that Mr Tindley was planning to visit her again.
Det Garda Motherway said Mr Tindley has obtained loans of €27,000 from the credit union, €10,000 from An Post and that also borrowed €3,000 from the widow of a man who he had cared for. It was further alleged that Mr Tindley got €400 from another pensioner whom he home-helped.
The court heard Mr Tindley had already sent some €19,000 to his fiancee, Skye, and said he had sent her the proceeds of the first two raids, totalling more than €3,000. Mr Tindley was “desperate to travel again to the United States to meet her”, the court heard.
Det Garda Motherway said gardaí examined Mr Tindley’s phone and found that he had been checking out a total of nine post-offices in the Cork area and gardaí believed that he was looking at these as possible targets and that he would commit further robberies if granted bail.
They also believed that, given that he was a regular customer at Ballintemple Post Office and knew the staff there, he would interfere with witnesses if granted bail and they were also objecting to bail on this ground, said Det Garda Motherway.
Cross-examined by Mr Tindley’s solicitor, Daithí Ó Donnabháin, Det Garda Motherway confirmed that Mr Tindley had never come to garda attention before and had no previous convictions. His fiancee Skye knew nothing of how he had obtained the money sent to her until contacted by gardaí, Det Garda Motherway said.
Judge Marion O’Leary said under the circumstances she was refusing Mr Tindley bail, and she remanded him in custody to appear again at Cork District Court on November 23rd by video link while she also granted him free legal aid after hearing he is now likely to lose his job as a HSE Home care assistant.
